The Biden administration has put the Houthi militant organisation back on the US government’s list of official terrorist groups, spurred on by continued attacks on shipping.
The move to name Ansar Allah, as the Houthi movement is officially known, as a “specially designated global terrorist” comes just under three years after the US State Department removed the designation as a way to speed up humanitarian to aid to war-torn Yemen, where the militants have control of a major swathe of the country.
“Over the past months, Yemen-based Houthi militants have engaged in unprecedented attacks against US military forces and international maritime vessels operating in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden,” a senior Biden administration official said in a background briefing with reporters.
“These attacks fit the textbook definition of terrorism: they have endangered US personnel, civilian mariners and our partners; jeopardised global trade; and threatened freedom of navigation.”
Explaining the forthcoming announcement, the official cited Monday’s attack against Eagle Bulk Shipping’s 63,300-dwt Gibraltar Eagle (built 2015) and the hit on Vulcanus Technical Maritime Enterprises’ 56,900-dwt bulker Zografia (built 2010) after US-led strikes against Houthi targets and warnings by a coalition of nations and a resolution by the United Nations Security Council calling for an end to assaults on shipping.
“Despite countless warnings, however, and diplomatic engagement, these attacks from Houthis have not stopped,” the official said.
The Houthis began targeting merchant shipping in November, at first focusing on ships with links to Israel before expanding the target list.
After the designation was officially announced, US national security advisor Jake Sullivan said it is an important tool to impede “terrorist funding” to the Yemeni-based group.
“If the Houthis cease their attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the United States will immediately reevaluate this designation,” he said.
